Volunteers needed for major survey of trees to be undertaken at Ambleside

VOLUNTEERS are being sought to undertake a major survey of trees in a Lake District town.

Environment organisation Windermere Reflections and partner organisations to identify and measure all the significant trees in public spaces in Ambleside in just one day And they will be looking out for common diseases to assess the health of the trees.

Education Officer with Windermere Reflections, Claire Backhouse said: “This is the first time it’s been done as a community science project.

“It is really important that we know which trees we have in our local environment, and the state of their health.”

The exercise, being carried out in partnership with Ambleside Civic Trust and the University of Cumbria, will assess the health of the trees by looking for common diseases.

“Absolutely anyone of any age can volunteer, no previous knowledge is required.

“There will be a demonstration first and I will be taking people through the methodology to identify the tree, measure girth, estimate height and spot common diseases,” she said.

Information gathered in the survey will be uploaded onto a nationwide database run by the Open Air Laboratories Network, to help gain a picture of tree health across the country.

Ms Backhouse said through the use of GPS an interactive map will also be produced.

With Windermere Reflections coming to an end in August this year, she also hopes that this will become an annual survey.

“We want the community to take ownership of the trees,” she said. “Some of the trees with significant value have gone recently, and there’s quite a strong feeling that they’re being lost.”

Anyone interested in helping on April 23 should call Claire on 07966 936008 or email claire.backhouse@cumbria.ac.uk Volunteers will need sturdy shoes and a waterproof jacket.

Under 18s should be accompanied by an adult.

Windermere Reflections is a three-year Heritage Lottery funded programme set up to improve the environment in the Windermere catchment.